EVERYONE should know some code. see:
http://laboratorium.net/archive/2013/01/16/my_career_as_a_bulk_downloader
But it's hard to find the classes that teach "coding for everyone". This
would be a good thing for c4l'ers to do in their institutions. How to
write the short script you need to do something practical. Also, how to
throw a few things into a database so you can re-munge it or explore
some connections. We need those classes. We need to turn a room in the
library into a hacker space for the staff. A learning lab.
kc
On 2/13/13 8:24 PM, Cornel Darden Jr. wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I think all Librarians should know some code. What ever happened to the polymath distinction that came along with the territory, for librarians. And now that "information science" has been included, along with an information environment that will be dominated by everything digital; how can we continue in this profession without knowing how to code. I think many are against the idea because they don't want to learn or even feel they can't.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Cornel Darden Jr.
> MSLIS
> Librarian
> Kennedy-King College
> City Colleges of Chicago
> Work 773-602-5449
> Cell 708-705-2945
>
> On Feb 13, 2013, at 7:33 PM, Shirley Lincicum <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> I'm not in Chicago, and I didn't see this talk, so maybe I'm way off base,
>> but isn't a coder a programmer, or even a software engineer? Last time I
>> checked, programmer/software engineer is a clear, well-established and
>> well-respected occupation (and generally far better paid than most
>> Librarians, at least outside of the library world). Why can't library
>> "coders" claim the title of programmer/software engineer?
>>
>> Truly curious,
>>
>> Shirley
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 4:22 PM, Maccabee Levine <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> Andromeda's talk this afternoon really struck a chord, as I shared with her
>>> afterwards, because I have the same issue from the other side of the fence.
>>> I'm among the 1/3 of the crowd today with a CS degree and and IT
>>> background (and no MLS). I've worked in libraries for years, but when I
>>> have a point to make about how technology can benefit instruction or
>>> reference or collection development, I generally preface it with "I'm not a
>>> librarian, but...". I shouldn't have to be defensive about that.
>>>
>>> Problem is, 'coder' doesn't imply a particular degree -- just the
>>> experience from doing the task, and as Andromeda said, she and most C4Lers
>>> definitely are coders. But 'librarian' *does* imply MLS/MSLS/etc., and I
>>> respect that.
>>>
>>> What's a library word I can use in the same way as coder?
>>>
>>> Maccabee
>>>
>>> --
>>> Maccabee Levine
>>> Head of Library Technology Services
>>> University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> 920-424-7332
>>>
--
Karen Coyle
[log in to unmask]http://kcoyle.net
ph: 1-510-540-7596
m: 1-510-435-8234
skype: kcoylenet